Written Answers Monday 19 June 2006

Scottish Executive

Antisocial Behaviour

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Antisocial Behaviour Orders have been issued in the (a) Argyll and Bute Council area, (b) West Dunbartonshire Council area and (c) Dumbarton parliamentary constituency in each year since 1999.

Hugh Henry: The number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) granted in Argyll and Bute council area since 2002-03 is as follows: 2002-03 (0); 2003-04 (0); 2004-05 (0).

  The number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) granted in West Dunbartonshire council area since 2002-03 is as follows: 2002-03 (3); 2003-04 (3); 2004-05 (4).

  The Scottish Executive does not hold centrally reliable data on the use of ASBOs by local authority area prior to 2002-03. Data on ASBO use is also not available by constituency area.

Antisocial Behaviour

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was invested in tackling anti-social behaviour through neighbourhood wardens, support schemes and other local initiatives in the (a) Dumbarton parliamentary constituency, (b) Argyll and Bute Council area and (c) West Dunbartonshire Council area in each year since 1999 and in what projects such investment was made.

Hugh Henry: Scottish Executive funding to tackle antisocial behaviour has been made available to local councils on behalf of their Community Planning Partnerships since 2004. We do not hold records centrally on locally funded initiatives prior to that date. Funds were allocated to local authority areas as a whole and it is therefore not possible to identify resources allocated specifically to the Dumbarton parliamentary constituency.

  Argyll and Bute Council was allocated £184,000 in 2004-05 and £204,700 in 2005-06. This supported the following services:

  community wardens;

  an antisocial behaviour coordinator;

  provision of witness support services;

  extending mediation services;

  surveillance equipment to record incidences of antisocial behaviour;

  community consultation on the antisocial behaviour strategy, and

  collection of data and monitoring and evaluation.

  In addition, Argyll and Bute Council were awarded £26,600 for 2004-06 to support provision of services to respond to antisocial noise.

  West Dunbartonshire Council was allocated £1,364,000 in 2004-05 and £1,513,550 in 2005-06. This supported the following services:

  community wardens;

  an antisocial behaviour coordinator;

  extending mediation services;

  intensive supervision of perpetrators of antisocial behaviour;

  support for witnesses and victims;

  dedicated solicitor;

  extra staff to investigate and pursue antisocial behaviour;

  mobile patrol service operating at night;

  environmental response team operating in the evenings;

  freephone helpline number, and

  funding to Strathclyde police to enable targeting of antisocial behaviour hotspots.

  In addition, West Dunbartonshire Council were awarded £130,700 for 2004-06 to support provision of services to respond to antisocial noise.

Autism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with autism have been refused referral, consultation or treatment by (a) a gastroenterologist, (b) an immunologist or (c) a toxicologist in each of the last five years.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

Autism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with autism, with or without mental health problems in addition to their autism, have been confined in mental health institutions in each of the last five years and what the (a) average and (b) longest length of confinement was for patients with autism in mental health facilities.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not available centrally.

Autism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Health Scotland or its predecessor, the Public Health Institute of Scotland, have at any stage investigated the number of people with autism who are confined in mental health facilities.

Lewis Macdonald: Health Scotland has not investigated the number of people with autism who are confined in mental health facilities. Information on patients discharged from psychiatric units and mental illness hospitals is collected through the Scottish Morbidity Record, SMR04.

Care of Elderly People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that local authorities provide free personal care to senior citizens who have been assessed as having personal care needs, as required by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002.

Lewis Macdonald: Local authorities currently provide free personal care to elderly people who have been assessed as requiring it. Specific services may vary locally, reflecting the discretion local authorities possess over how to deliver their services. The extent and acceptability of such variability will become clear as a result of our current policy evaluation and associated research. We will also discuss particular problems with COSLA and specific local authorities, and take further action if appropriate.

Care of Elderly People

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of older people in the (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area received intensive home care in each year since 1997.

Lewis Macdonald: The statistics requested are available from 1999 onwards and are contained in the following table:

  Table 1: Percentage of People Aged 65 and Over Receiving Intensive Home Care

  

 Local Authority
 Year


 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Argyll and Bute
 0.8%
 1.1%
 1.1%
 1.3%
 1.3%
 1.4%
 1.3%


 West Dunbartonshire
 1.5%
 1.5%
 1.6%
 1.8%
 2.4%
 2.9%
 2.8%



  Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1.

Child Care

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure the sustainability of out-of-school care provision.

Robert Brown: This year (2006-07), Childcare Strategy Grant Aided Expenditure of £44.256 million has been allocated to local authorities. It is for each local authority, in conjunction with the local Childcare Partnership, to decide how best to allocate this funding at the local level.

  In 2003, the Executive published School’s Out – Framework for the Development of Out of School Care http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/02/16322/17791.

  This publication includes at Section 11, sustainability and looks at the various models used for delivering out of school care. The Executive also commissioned a report Management Models and Business Planning:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/02/16323/17825.

  This provides information on possible ways to tackle sustainability issues in Out of School Care.

  The Executive core funds the Scottish Out-of-School Care Network (SOSCN). SOSCN provides information, advice, direct support and training to out-of-school providers across Scotland.

  The Tax Credits system and child care vouchers provide support for parents with child care costs. These are both the responsibility of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and are reserved matters.

Child Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding for child care has been allocated to (a) Argyll and Bute Council and (b) West Dunbartonshire Council since 1999.

Robert Brown: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  

 Childcare Strategy
1999-2000
(£000)
2000-01
(£000)
2001-02
(£000)
2002-03
(£000)
2003-04
(£000)
2004-05
(£000)
2005-06
(£000)
2006-07
(£000)
2007-08
(£000)


 Argyll and Bute
 95
 235
 233
 233
 323
 532
 728
 808
 813


 West Dunbartonshire
 116
 210
 211
 211
 283
 438
 599
 636
 640



  The figures in the table are taken from the Childcare Strategy GAE (Grant Aided Expenditure) line and is provision to spend. It should be noted that these figures are not budgets or spending targets but part of the more complex local government funding formula used to allocate one block grant figure to each council. It is up to each council to decide how best to allocate their resources based on their local needs and priorities.

  In addition to Childcare Strategy funding, West Dunbartonshire has been allocated Working for Families Funding (WfFF) of £600,000 each year since 2004-05. WfFF can be used for a number of projects, including creating and subsidising child care.

Child Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been allocated to school sport in the (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1999.

Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answers to questions S1W-33868 on 17 February 2003, S2W-13717 on 2 February 2005 and to S2W-20960 on 5 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  In addition to the information already provided in previous answers, both local authorities have received funding through the Active Schools programme. Argyll and Bute was awarded £280,080 in 2004-05, £267,888 in 2005-06 and £261,360 in 2006-07. West Dunbartonshire was awarded £233,340 in 2006-07.

Civil Service Relocation

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs in each Executive department, agency and non-departmental public body are currently being considered for relocation.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs have been created outside Edinburgh as a result of the relocation of staff in each Executive department, agency and non-departmental public body and how many of these are regarded as newly-created jobs.

George Lyon: The numbers of jobs located outside Edinburgh associated with each relocation of staff in each Executive department, agency and non-departmental public body are set out in a table on the Executive’s website. This can be accessed through the following link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Relocation/StoryFar#a1.

  Although many relocation projects will include a number of newly-created jobs, the majority of newly-created jobs will be associated with newly created organisations. These include, in particular: Food Standards Agency, Public Guardian’s Office, Scottish Social Services Council, Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care Headquarters, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Mental Health Tribunal Service, Scottish Building Standards Agency and the Risk Management Authority.

Concessionary Travel

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reviewed the operation of the concessionary travel scheme and, in particular, whether it will extend the scheme so that people who must visit family in the islands of Scotland, but who are resident on the mainland, and who are involved in helping to provide care for their family living in the islands, can be entitled to free travel.

Tavish Scott: The introduction on 1 April 2006 of the Scotland-wide Free Bus Scheme for Older and Disabled People meets the Partnership Agreement commitment to a national free off-peak bus scheme for older people and people with disabilities. In addition, two free return ferry journeys annually are being offered to all eligible islands residents. Although we are closely monitoring the operation of the scheme, we do not have plans to extend the ferry concession element.

Council Tax

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost of appeals against council tax banding has been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

George Lyon: The information requested is not held centrally.

Council Tax

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for council tax increases for each of the next five years.

Mr Tom McCabe: It will be for local authorities to justify their decisions on future council tax rises to their electorates. The evidence from the latest round of council tax setting demonstrates that councils can successfully and reasonably constrain the council tax burden on their communities and I look to all authorities to do so in the future.

Diabetes

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average waiting times are for the supply of insulin pumps to patients who require such pumps to manage their diabetes at home, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Diabetes

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been supplied with insulin pumps to manage their diabetes at home in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following table, which has been compiled from information supplied by the Diabetes Managed Clinical Networks, sets out the number of people with diabetes using an insulin pump in June 2006 in each NHS board area.

  

 NHS Board
 No. of People with Diabetes Using an Insulin Pump


 Ayrshire and Arran
 1


 Borders
 5


 Dumfries and Galloway
 5


 Fife
 15


 Forth Valley
 8


 Grampian
 13


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 22


 Highland
 6


 Lanarkshire
 5


 Lothian
 45


 Orkney
 0


 Shetland
 0


 Tayside
 34


 Western Isles
 1


 Scotland
 160

Education

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24694 by Peter Peacock on 20 April 2006, whether decisions by education authorities to cap the rolls of secondary schools, to disallow placement requests from households resident in neighbouring local authority areas, are notified to the Executive and, if so, whether it will issue a list of those secondary schools which it knows to be subject to such placement restrictions.

Peter Peacock: Such local authority decisions in relation to individual schools are not required to be notified to the Scottish Executive.

Energy

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are required to have bulk purchase schemes in place for energy purchase for all their departments and facilities.

Mr Tom McCabe: Local authorities have a statutory duty to make arrangements which secure best value. Those arrangements will include their procurement activity. How they deliver against their duty is a matter for individual authorities. Some, for example, have combined to form consortia, such as the Authorities Buying Consortium and bulk purchase their electricity.

Environment

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to designate the entire area of Loch Ness as bathing water.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive has no plans to designate the entire area of Loch Ness as a bathing water under the EC Bathing Water Directive. Anyone wishing to have a site considered for designation should apply to the Bathing Water Review Panel which my predecessor asked Clean Coast Scotland to establish in 2005.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas’ proposals in relation to conserving herring and mackerel stocks.

Ross Finnie: Advice on the management of mackerel is due in October 2006.

  The current advice on North Sea herring, published on 9 June 2006, is complex and will require careful study before decisions are taken in conjunction with other EU member states and Norway later this year. In its response the Scottish Executive will be guided by its aim of ensuring a sustainable, profitable and well managed herring fishery.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to introduce individual transferable quotas and, if so, what the reasons are for such proposals and what steps have been taken to consult the fishing industry and assess the likely economic and social impact of such a quota management system.

Ross Finnie: Changes to the arrangements for quota management in Scotland are being considered jointly with the other three fisheries administrations and with stakeholders under the Quota Management Change Programme, which commenced in April 2005. No decisions have yet been taken on the specific changes needed. Final decisions on any changes to the current quota management system will only be taken after full consultation with industry, but, at this stage, we are not necessarily convinced that a full blown ITQ system would benefit the industry as a whole.

  An industry Consultative Group met on the 29 March 2006 where Fisheries Administrations’ current thinking on the central components for the new system were discussed. We will continue to work closely with Scottish stakeholders to ensure that any changes to the UK wide quota management system are appropriate for the Scottish industry.

Flood Prevention

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the work of the Flooding Issues Management Committee and list its membership.

Rhona Brankin: An update on the work being taken forward by the Flooding Issues Advisory Committee (FIAC) and its Sub-Committees, as well as a full list of members, can be found within the FIAC pages of the Executive website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Water/Flooding/16919/FIAC.

Hate Crime

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a progress report on the activities of the Working Group on Hate Crime since October 2004.

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a response to the recommendations of the report of the Working Group on Hate Crime.

Cathy Jamieson: The Working Group on Hate Crime was set up by ministers to consider improvements, including legislation, which might be made to deal with crimes based on hatred towards social groups. The group’s report, published on 8 October 2004, makes 14 recommendations impacting on a number of different areas including the criminal justice system, the education curriculum, new legislation and media reporting. Careful consideration has been given to all of the recommendations made by the working group and a formal response to their report, including an update on progress against each of the recommendations, will be issued in the near future. The working group was set up to provide a report to ministers, and was therefore disbanded when this task was completed.

Hate Crime

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken in response to the recommendations of the report of the Working Group on Hate Crime.

Cathy Jamieson: A number of the recommendations made by the Working Group have resulted in action being taken. For example, since 1 April this year the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004 has offered the possibility that some of those at risk from hate crime may benefit from special measures and other provisions designed to help vulnerable witnesses who may be in fear or distress in connection with giving evidence to give the best evidence they can. The act currently applies to vulnerable adults and children where cases are being heard in the High Court or in solemn proceedings in the sheriff court including Children’s Hearings Court Proceedings. These provisions will be rolled out to sheriff court summary and all Civil Proceedings including fatal accident inquiries proceedings next year. A formal response to the report will be issued in the near future.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) elective hospital admissions, (b) first out-patient attendances following GP referral and (c) consultant-led first out-patient attendances there were in the NHS in each year since 1990, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information available is provided in a document titled NHSScotland: Elective Inpatient Day Case Episodes and New Outpatient Attendances 1989-90 to 2005-06, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 39861).

  Please note that the out-patient information system (SMR00) started from 1 April 1991 so no earlier figures are available.

  The data are broken down by NHS board of residence. The elective hospital admissions are shown for acute specialties only (defined as non-obstetric/non-psychiatric specialties). The new out-patient data covers consultant-led clinics and are shown separately for acute specialties and for all specialties and for GP referrals and all referrals.

  In interpreting these data, it should be noted that they reflect, amongst other things, changes in medical technology, clinical practice, service redesign and the desire to provide care in the most appropriate setting by whoever is the most appropriate health professional. Many procedures carried out on an in-patient/day case basis in 1990 are now provided in an out-patient setting and very often are done at a return appointment so are not included in the figures provided. In addition to hospital premises, care is increasingly provided in community settings, by General Practitioners (GPs), nurses and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs). The focus on health care redesign has also meant that more innovative ways of providing care have been introduced and, for example, telephone consultations and/or the use of telemedicine for the follow-up of appropriate patients may provide a more responsive service to the patient but are not counted for national activity purposes.

  It should also be noted that the out-patient information system (SMR00) has developed over time in the terms of the specialties included.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what reduction there has been in mortality rates from coronary heart disease in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) Argyll and Bute local authority area in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on mortality from coronary heart disease by local authority is available from GRO death data. The age standardised coronary heart disease mortality rates from 1999 to 2004 for Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire are shown in the following table.

  

 
 
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Argyll and Bute
 Deaths
 265
 269
 261
 251
 249
 231


 Age standardised mortality rate
 170.4
 170.9
 159.1
 158.5
 143.6
 135.5


 % Decrease Year-on-Year
 
 0.3%
 -6.9%
 -0.4%
 -9.4%
 -5.7%


 West Dunbartonshire
 Deaths
 275
 255
 248
 227
 262
 222


 Age Standardised Mortality Rate
 211.4
 193.5
 187.5
 160.8
 199.0
 164.2


 % Decrease Year-on-Year
 
 -8.5%
 -3.1%
 -14.2%
 23.8%
 -17.5%



  Note: GRO death data are currently only available up to year ending December 2004.

Health

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients diagnosed with mesothelioma live in (a) island, (b) rural and (c) urban communities.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Cancer Registry records 913 patients who were diagnosed with mesothelioma in the five year period 1999-2003. Their distribution among the areas specified is:

  (a) Island communities, six

  (b) Rural areas, 125

  (c) Urban areas, 788.

Health

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies have been undertaken to estimate the number of people who may suffer from mesothelioma in the next (a) 5, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years living in (i) island, (ii) rural and (iii) urban communities.

Lewis Macdonald: I am not aware of any studies into the expected incidence of mesothelioma broken down by island, rural or urban communities in Scotland.

  However, the Health and Safety Executive have conducted a study into expected mortality from mesothelioma in Great Britain that was published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2005. The paper The expected burden of mesothelioma mortality in Great Britain from 2002 to 2050 can be accessed at http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v92/n3/abs/6602307a.html.

Historic Buildings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has expressed to Scottish Borders Council regarding the proposal to demolish the historic government buildings in Galashiels as part of a proposed supermarket development.

Patricia Ferguson: Historic Scotland, a Scottish Executive agency, sought to recognise the historic merit of the Government Buildings (former Textile College) in Galashiels by listing the property as a building of special architectural and historic interest in 2004. In doing this, they took the exceptional step of listing in the face of a live planning application, against stated policy. Ensuing action by Tesco Supermarket saw the listing reduced by the Court of Session in June 2004.

  In the absence of statutory protection Historic Scotland no longer has any formal locus in the case or remit under planning law to intervene. However, in May 2006 the agency formally invited the Scottish Borders Council to alert them should Tesco decide not to demolish the buildings on the site, as this could give them the opportunity to consider statutory protection afresh.

Homelessness

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to the rough sleepers initiative in the (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area since the inception of the initiative and how successful the initiative has been.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Rough Sleepers Initiative (RSI) was launched in 1997. Between 1997 and 2002 local authorities received funding from the Rough Sleepers Initiative on the basis of bids made to the Executive setting out the need for such funding in their area.

  Local authorities’ activities funded as a result of RSI have now become integrated with local authorities’ wider homelessness strategies and since 2004-05 these activities have been included within their local outcome agreements, which set out on an annual basis how they are implementing these strategies.

  The final evaluation of the RSI was published in March 2005 (which can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/20886/54982) and concluded that this initiative had achieved significant progress and produced tangible reductions in the need to sleep rough across the country. The evaluation concluded that the RSI enhanced services in cities and often created specific services for the first time in rural and smaller urban areas.

  The following table shows the allocations of funding to Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire authorities under the RSI:

  

 Year
 Argyll and Bute
 West Dunbartonshire


 1997-98
 0
 0


 1998-99
 0
£11,200


 1999-2000
£8,000
£34,300


 2000-01
£274,880
£86,010


 2001-02
£114,480
£104,347


 2002-03
£114,480
£102,000


 2003-04
£114,480
£102,000


 2004-05
£114,480
£106,000


 2005-06
£124,000
£110,000


 2006-07
£125,000
£111,000

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure the availability of affordable, good quality housing for those on low incomes in the Dumbarton parliamentary constituency.

Malcolm Chisholm: The main source of new affordable, good quality housing in the Dumbarton constituency is Communities Scotland’s Affordable Housing Investment Programme. This programme includes their Core Development Programme and the Community Ownership Programme.

  The Dumbarton constituency will this year benefit from over £10 million of investment from the Core Development Programme. This will include the expected approval of 48 new units of affordable rented housing. In addition, five units of shared equity housing funded from the Homestake scheme (located in Alexandria) will go on sale.

  West Dunbartonshire Council has yet to take a final decision on making an application to join the Community Ownership Programme. It has been consulting with tenants and residents over its intention to do so. It has also been developing linked proposals to bid for resources from the Early Action Fund of the Community Ownership Programme.

  Where areas are proposed for significant levels of investment, involving demolishing existing stock and building new homes, local housing associations will be working with the Council and local residents to develop area-based regeneration plans.

  For existing social rented housing, the Scottish Executive has a policy objective of ensuring that stock owned by local authority landlords, and registered social landlords (housing associations) meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015.

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been invested by Communities Scotland and its predecessor organisation in housing association stock in the (a) Argyll and Bute Council area, (b) West Dunbartonshire Council area and (c) Dumbarton parliamentary constituency in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her answer is as follows:

  Investment by Communities Scotland, and its predecessor organisation, in Housing Association stock in the (a) Argyll and Bute Council area; (b) West Dunbartonshire Council area, and (c) Dumbarton parliamentary constituency in each year since 1999 is set out in the following table:

  

 Location
1999-2000
(£ Million)
2000-01
(£ Million)
2001-02
(£ Million)
2002-03
(£ Million)
2003-04
(£ Million)
2004-05
(£ Million)
2005-06
(£ Million)
 Total


 Argyll and Bute Council 
 5.653
 4.435
 4.057
 3.642
 7.288
 10.690
 14.979
 50.744


 West Dunbartonshire Council 
 6.707
 8.385
 10.108
 7.808
 7.650
 9.008
 12.658
 62.324


 Dumbarton Parliamentary Constituency
 2.990
 3.556
 3.615
 3.825
 4.262
 6.879
 14.996
 40.123"

Housing

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been invested in local authority housing stock in the (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital expenditure, as recorded on the councils’ HRA returns, is shown in the following table.

  

 Council
1999-2000
(£ Million)
2000-01
(£ Million)
2001-02
(£ Million)
2002-03
(£ Million)
2003-04
(£ Million)
2004-05
(£ Million)
2005-06
(£ Million)


 Argyll and Bute
 4.1
 3.2
 3.2
 3.5
 3.5
 3.6
 3.1


 West Dunbartonshire
 8.2
 8.2
 7.2
 6.8
 8.8
 11.6
 13.7



  Note: The figures for 2005-06 are estimates.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have gained employment having completed (a) a custodial sentence and (b) community service in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not routinely collected at a national level.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many traffickers of children have been (a) charged, (b) convicted in each of the last five years.

Hugh Henry: Trafficking of people for the purpose of exploitation is an offence under Section 4 of the Asylum & Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004. Trafficking of people for the purpose of sexual exploitation is an offence under Section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003.

  These offences apply, whether the victims are adults or children. It is not possible to separately identify child trafficking cases from the statistics held centrally.

  To date, there have been no proceedings under the 2003 act or the 2004 act for trafficking offences.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people illegally managing child prostitutes have been (a) charged, (b) convicted in each of the last five years.

Hugh Henry: There have been no prosecutions completed in relation to offences of controlling a child providing sexual services under Section 11 of the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 since this act came into force in October 2005.

  Prior to this time, there was no specific offence of controlling or managing a child involved in prostitution, and consequently, statistics on charges and convictions are not held centrally.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the 10 most common offences were for which men and women were sent to prison in each of the last five years, broken down by age group.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables.

  Number of Males with a Charge Proved1 in Scottish Courts, by the 10 Most Common Offences Resulting in a Custodial Sentence (using Standard Offence Categories2), by Sex and Age, 2000-01 to 2004-053,4

  

 2000-01
 Total Males
 Under 21
 21 to 30
 Over 30


 Shoplifting 
 1,723
 281
 1,015
 427


 Breach of social work orders 
 1,655
 791
 682
 182


 Housebreaking 
 1,390
 397
 756
 237


 Common assault 
 1,285
 330
 510
 445


 Unlawful use of vehicle 
 1,033
 200
 498
 335


 Other theft
 1,013
 241
 548
 224


 Breach of the peace 
 961
 163
 346
 452


 Crimes against public justice 
 855
 214
 383
 258


 Drugs 
 763
 72
 355
 336


 Handling an offensive weapon 
 614
 203
 291
 120


 2001-02
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 2,045
 310
 1,184
 551


 Breach of social work orders 
 1,489
 588
 713
 188


 Housebreaking 
 1,363
 362
 736
 265


 Common assault 
 1,285
 318
 491
 476


 Breach of the peace 
 1,123
 215
 389
 519


 Other theft
 1,078
 243
 617
 218


 Unlawful use of vehicle 
 997
 154
 544
 299


 Crimes against public justice 
 931
 263
 419
 249


 Drugs 
 857
 73
 405
 379


 Handling an offensive weapon 
 614
 202
 284
 128


 2002-03
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 2,147
 261
 1,318
 568


 Breach of social work orders 
 1,499
 539
 746
 214


 Common assault 
 1,397
 344
 550
 503


 Housebreaking 
 1,322
 270
 754
 298


 Breach of the peace 
 1,183
 210
 441
 532


 Unlawful use of vehicle 
 1,157
 168
 625
 364


 Crimes against public justice 
 951
 219
 424
 308


 Other theft
 897
 206
 478
 213


 Drugs 
 859
 68
 381
 410


 Handling an offensive weapon 
 707
 178
 347
 182


 2003-04
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 1,960
 209
 1,169
 582


 Breach of social work orders 
 1,596
 567
 764
 265


 Common assault 
 1,378
 335
 603
 440


 Housebreaking 
 1,197
 221
 706
 270


 Breach of the peace 
 1,168
 235
 450
 483


 Unlawful use of vehicle 
 1,065
 144
 561
 360


 Crimes against public justice 
 926
 224
 435
 267


 Drugs 
 879
 50
 384
 445


 Other theft
 791
 146
 452
 193


 Serious assault and attempted murder
 646
 202
 278
 166


 2004-05
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 1,975
 164
 1,211
 600


 Common assault 
 1,577
 363
 635
 579


 Breach of social work orders 
 1,523
 472
 763
 288


 Breach of the peace 
 1,295
 233
 460
 602


 Housebreaking 
 1,100
 199
 600
 301


 Crimes against public justice 
 1,043
 220
 421
 402


 Unlawful use of vehicle 
 886
 119
 438
 329


 Drugs 
 833
 48
 373
 412


 Other theft
 806
 114
 476
 216


 Handling an offensive weapon 
 744
 170
 382
 192



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Based on standard categories of offences used in previous court proceedings statistical bulletins.

  3. Breach of social work orders is included, but is not an offence itself in this context.

  4. Non-payment of fines results in some receptions to penal establishments.

  Number of Females with a Charge Proved1 in Scottish Courts, by the 10 Most Common Offences Resulting in a Custodial Sentence (using Standard Offence Categories2), by Sex and Age, 2000-01 to 2004-053,4

  

 2000-01
 Total Females
 Under 21
 21 to 30
 Over 30


 Shoplifting 
 272
 73
 157
 42


 Breach of social work orders 
 164
 68
 75
 21


 Other theft
 103
 31
 55
 17


 Common assault 
 68
 25
 17
 26


 Drugs 
 64
 7
 31
 26


 Crimes against public justice 
 57
 23
 28
 6


 Breach of the peace 
 37
 15
 12
 10


 Other fraud5
 36
 10
 21
 5


 Serious assault and attempted murder
 24
 10
 7
 7


 Fraud 
 22
 7
 10
 5


 2001-02
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 374
 103
 190
 81


 Breach of social work orders 
 152
 70
 68
 14


 Other theft
 114
 26
 62
 26


 Drugs 
 92
 10
 42
 40


 Common assault 
 69
 22
 30
 17


 Breach of the peace 
 69
 14
 23
 32


 Crimes against public justice 
 64
 15
 31
 18


 Other fraud5
 47
 12
 23
 12


 Robbery 
 23
 10
 12
 1


 Serious assault and attempted murder
 22
 1
 10
 11


 2002-03
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 344
 68
 217
 59


 Breach of social work orders 
 213
 40
 139
 34


 Other theft
 116
 28
 60
 28


 Common assault 
 113
 39
 38
 36


 Drugs 
 77
 5
 39
 33


 Crimes against public justice 
 70
 16
 35
 19


 Breach of the peace 
 65
 12
 23
 30


 Other fraud5
 48
 7
 27
 14


 Robbery 
 40
 11
 18
 11


 Serious assault and attempted murder
 20
 7
 6
 7


 2003-04
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 364
 53
 225
 86


 Breach of social work orders 
 202
 39
 112
 51


 Other theft
 107
 24
 56
 27


 Drugs 
 106
 14
 47
 45


 Common assault 
 98
 32
 32
 34


 Crimes against public justice 
 80
 19
 32
 29


 Breach of the peace 
 79
 16
 22
 41


 Other fraud5
 44
 4
 25
 15


 Serious assault and attempted murder
 37
 12
 12
 13


 Robbery 
 37
 9
 23
 5


 2004-05
 
 
 
 


 Shoplifting 
 395
 48
 233
 114


 Breach of social work orders 
 173
 33
 106
 34


 Drugs 
 140
 13
 58
 69


 Common assault 
 133
 41
 48
 44


 Other theft
 115
 22
 64
 29


 Breach of the peace 
 95
 16
 41
 38


 Crimes against public justice 
 78
 14
 42
 22


 Other fraud5
 35
 6
 15
 14


 Serious assault and attempted murder
 33
 10
 9
 14


 Fraud 
 32
 3
 18
 11



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Based on standard categories of offences used in previous court proceedings statistical bulletins.

  3. Breach of social work orders is included, but is not an offence itself in this context.

  4. Non-payment of fines results in some receptions to penal establishments.

  5. Includes forgery, reset and embezzlement.

Justice

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-9490 by Hugh Henry on 30 March 2006, how many mesothelioma cases are currently being progressed and how many asbestos-related cases not involving a diagnosis of mesothelioma remain outstanding in Scottish courts, broken down according to whether the plaintiffs are from (a) island, (b) rural and (c) urban communities.

Hugh Henry: As at 14 June, there were 32 cases involving a diagnosis of mesothelioma outstanding in the Court of Session and 384 other asbestos related cases. The court does not have a breakdown according to the pursuer’s place of residence.

Medical Negligence

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital negligence cases have been (a) filed and (b) upheld in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of negligence cases, excluding non-clinical, which have been (a) filed and (b) upheld in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital, has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39862).

Mental Health

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to improve clinical psychology assessment and treatment services in the Scottish Borders.

Lewis Macdonald: It is for NHS boards, working within the framework of national priorities, to consider how best to deploy their resources to meet local needs. However, I expect NHS boards to take account of the specialist needs of patients in their areas in planning and providing services.

Mental Health

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was given to provide clinical psychology assessment and treatment services in the last year, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many work days were lost due to people suffering from ill-health as a result of (a) depression and (b) mental health problems in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was to the economy in each of the last five years for which figures are available of work days lost due to people suffering ill-health as a result of (a) depression and (b) mental health problems.

Lewis Macdonald: Although there is information on the number of days lost to sickness, the data is not robust enough to state the number of days lost due to ill-health caused by depression or mental health problems.

Mental Health

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been allocated from the Mental Health Specific Grant to each local authority in each year since 1999.

Lewis Macdonald: The allocations made by the Scottish Executive, to which local authorities also add their own resources, are shown in the following table:

  

 Council
 In Each Year From:


1999-2000 to 2000-01 (£)
2001-02 to 2002-03 (£)
2003-04 to 2005-06(£)


 Aberdeen City
 637,700
 672,980
 708,400


 Aberdeenshire
 520,800
 549,290
 578,200


 Angus
 289,100
 304,570
 320,600


 Argyll and Bute
 281,400
 296,590
 312,200


 Clackmannan
 99,400
 105,070
 110,600


 Dumfries and Galloway
 336,000
 355,110
 373,800


 Dundee City
 307,300
 324,520
 341,600


 East Ayrshire
 289,100
 304,570
 320,600


 East Dunbartonshire
 147,700
 155,610
 163,800


 East Lothian
 200,900
 211,470
 222,600


 East Renfrewshire
 51,100
 54,530
 57,400


 Edinburgh City
 1,210,300
 1,278,130
 1,345,400


 Eilean Siar
 147,000
 155,610
 163,800


 Falkirk
 330,400
 348,460
 366,800


 Fife
 804,300
 848,540
 893,200


 Glasgow City
 2,497,600
 2,636,060
 2,774,800


 Highland
 538,300
 567,910
 597,800


 Inverclyde
 173,600
 183,540
 193,200


 Midlothian
 238,700
 252,700
 266,000


 Moray
 143,500
 151,620
 159,600


 North Ayrshire
 176,400
 187,530
 197,400


 North Lanarkshire
 506,800
 534,660
 562,800


 Orkney
 119,700
 126,350
 133,000


 Perth and Kinross
 245,000
 258,020
 271,600


 Renfrewshire
 337,400
 356,440
 375,200


 Scottish Borders
 280,000
 295,260
 310,800


 Shetland
 148,400
 156,940
 165,200


 South Ayrshire
 270,900
 285,950
 301,000


 South Lanarkshire
 675,500
 712,880
 750,400


 Stirling
 186,900
 196,840
 207,200


 West Dunbartonshire
 225,400
 238,070
 250,600


 West Lothian
 183,400
 194,180
 204,400


 Total
 12,600,000
 13,300,000
 14,000,000

Mental Health

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the Mental Health Specific Grant.

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the Mental Health Specific Grant annually in line with inflation.

Lewis Macdonald: We increased the grant from £19 million to £20 million a year in 2003-04. The level of grant for future years will be considered, along with all other Scottish Executive expenditure, in the next public spending review.

Ministerial Costs

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26033 by Mr Tom McCabe on 8 June 2006, what the Executive received in return for the £20,000 sponsorship of the lecture given by Bill Clinton on 10 May 2006 at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow.

Mr Tom McCabe: The £20,000 sponsorship was part of a total package of support of £38,258.80 towards the hosting of this high-profile event in Scotland. Permission to brand the lectern, stage and room with the Saltire and images of contemporary Scotland was received as part of this sponsorship package – the first time this has been granted by President Clinton. This was also the first time President Clinton has allowed press into such an event – 33 journalists attended – which resulted in substantive press and TV coverage.

  What we received in return for the £20,000 element of the sponsorship package is as follows:

  Permission to brand the lectern, stage and room with the Saltire and images of modern Scotland

  The inclusion of information on Scotland in press packs (32 journalists attended)

  Permission to use photography and film footage of the event for Scottish Executive purposes. For example, we are currently considering the scope to use the DVD of the speech in schools as a supplement to wider activity under Determined to Succeed

  One table for 10 guests (including senior representatives from the media and the Convenor of the European and External Relations Committee).

  The Scottish Executive has a key role to play to stimulate the debate on global issues and supporting this event has allowed us to do just that. The event received considerable media coverage and has helped to position Scotland as a leading country for high-profile events and, as such, this sponsorship packages represents good value for money.

Ministerial Costs

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26033 by Mr Tom McCabe on 8 June 2006, what information it has on what percentage of the total cost of the lecture given by Bill Clinton on 10 May 2006 at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow was met by the Executive.

Mr Tom McCabe: The published cost given to the media by the event organisers was £200,000. The Scottish Executive contribution represents 20% of the total cost of staging this very high-profile event. The main organiser of the event was A&S Promotions.

  Approximately, 550 politicians, business people, schoolchildren and journalists attended this high profile event which secured significant media coverage. Attendees included Nicola Sturgeon and Linda Fabiani. Ms Fabiani attended as a guest of the Scottish Executive in her capacity as the Convenor of the European and External Relations Committee.

NHS Finance

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the Arbuthnott formula.

Mr Andy Kerr: The NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) was established in March 2005 to improve and refine the Arbuthnott Formula. Members were chosen through the public appointment process and Dr Karen Facey, a self-employed health policy consultant and non-executive Director of Forth Valley NHS Board acts as Chairman. The remit and membership of NRAC was detailed in the answer to question S2W-14556 on 21 February 2005.

  Over the summer of 2005, the committee consulted with a number of NHS boards to assess what issues they have with the current formula and identify criteria that NHS boards consider a successful Formula could be measured against. To inform the work undertaken by NRAC, the issues were collated into groups and a summary of the issues and an outline of the proposed handling of the evidence was published on the NRAC website (www.nrac.scot.nhs.uk). Individual responses will not be given to boards, but issues will be considered as research progresses and new elements of the allocation formula are created.

  Research has been undertaken during the past six months to determine how the formula could be improved. The areas of research include demography (population measurement and how age/sex cost weights for Care Programmes are assessed); morbidity and life circumstances, and the excess costs of supply (including remoteness). This research is currently being finalised.

  The committee will issue these research reports on their website in early July, with an overview document summarising the key issues, presenting options and raising questions. Engagement and feedback will be sought mainly with NHSScotland, but also other interested parties including, for example, the Royal Colleges, BMA and COSLA.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any funding shortfall for specialist stoma nurses which has arisen from the introduction of new arrangements for the supply of stoma appliances and, if so, whether it will provide funding to NHS boards to address the shortfall.

Lewis Macdonald: No. The new arrangements have ended the practice of specialist stoma nurses advising NHS patients being employed or sponsored by appliance contractors or manufacturers. Transitional funding for a period of two years, based on the historic level of sponsorship or employment cost is, however, being made available by the industry to allow time for NHS boards to adjust to the new regime.

  The ingredient cost of appliances continues, as previously, to be a call on NHS boards’ unified budget.

  A sum of £2.5 million has been added to NHS boards’ unified budget in respect of dispensing fees which now fall to be met directly by NHS boards.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) neurosurgeons and (b) neurologists have been employed in each NHS board area each year since 1990.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39857).

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) neurosurgeons and (b) neurologists there have been at each hospital in each year since 1990.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the number of neurosurgeons and neurologists in each hospital is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there have been in (a) neurosurgery and (b) neurology in each NHS board area in each year since 1990.

Mr Andy Kerr: Prior to 1995, the information requested was not collected centrally. However, details of vacant consultant posts since 1995 are published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics at www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  In particular, table B12 gives the number of consultant vacancies in neurosurgery and neurology by NHS board area. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2005.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurse consultants are employed in the NHS, broken down by (a) NHS board area and (b) speciality.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards in Scotland are responsible for establishing approved Nurse/Midwifery Consultant posts within their board area.

  Information on nurse consultant staff employed in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

  Section E gives details of Hospital and Community Health Services Nursing and Midwifery Staff employed in NHS Scotland. In particular, table E6 shows the headcount of Nursing and Midwifery staff, broken down by grade, speciality and NHS board. Latest available information is at 30 September 2005.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurse specialists there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by speciality.

Mr Andy Kerr: Prior to 2003, centrally held information did not explicitly identify Clinical Nurse Specialists across NHSScotland.

  In 2003, Scottish Health Statistics (ISD) undertook a pilot data collection, the results of which were published on the ISD website under Workforce Statistics (www.isdscotland.org/workforce).

  Information for 30 September 2004 and 30 September 2005 is published in Section E of the Workforce Statistics website. Table 18 gives a breakdown of Clinical Nurse Specialists by area of work.

NHS Waiting Times

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times have been in each of the last three years for (a) assessments and (b) fittings for digital hearing aids (i) nationally and (ii) broken down by NHS board, showing also the number of patients on each waiting list and expressed as a ratio per 1,000 of population.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is currently not held centrally. However, as part of the Audiology Modernisation Project, the Scottish Executive has asked the Information and Statistics Division of NHS National Services Scotland to establish a national data collection programme which will provide information for each NHS board on waiting times for the assessment and fitting of hearing aids. This data will be published in due course.

Nutrition

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it is carrying out into the extent to which beneficial changes in eating habits are being achieved through the Hungry for Success programme.

Peter Peacock: The implementation of the Scottish Executive’s Hungry for Success initiative is being monitored by HM Inspectorate of Education.

  Since August 2004, an inspection programme has been undertaken in primary and special schools which, by June 2006, will have seen 111 schools inspected. The inspection programme for secondary schools will begin in September 2006 and will run in conjunction with continued inspection of primary and special schools.

  In March 2005, an evaluation of the Free Fruit in Schools Initiative was also carried out. The report of the evaluation is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/12/21110322/03222.

Nutrition

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, given the proposed duty on local authorities to provide only school food which meets defined nutrient standards, it has any plans to intervene in private schools and nurseries which supply "junk" food to pupils.

Peter Peacock: Under the proposed Schools (Nutrition and Health Promotion) (Scotland) Bill it is intended that children placed in independent schools by local authorities will receive food and drink which meets defined nutrient standards. Local authority nurseries will also fall within the scope of the proposed bill.

Nutrition

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all food and drink provided in schools will be subject to the proposed duty on nutrient standards for school lunches, including that provided in private vending machines.

Peter Peacock: It is intended that, under the proposed Schools (Nutrition and Health Promotion) (Scotland) Bill, all food and drink provided to pupils in local authority schools, including that provided through vending machines, will require to meet defined nutrient standards.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of police retirements were on grounds of ill-health in each year since 1990, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is shown in the following tables. Data before 1991 is not available.

  Ill-Health Retirements as a Percentage of Total Police Retirements

  

 
 Central
 Dumfries and Galloway
 Fife
 Grampian


 
 Officers
 % of Total Retirements
 Officers
 % of Total Retirements
 Officers
 % of Total Retirements
 Officers
 % of Total Retirements


 1991
 9
 53%
 6
 46%
 6
 32%
 8
 28%


 1992
 6
 55%
 4
 37%
 12
 53%
 10
 39%


 1993
 7
 37%
 8
 53%
 4
 18%
 4
 19%


 1994
 5
 38%
 3
 30%
 3
 16%
 7
 33%


 1995-96
 5
 28%
 0
 0%
 2
 16%
 14
 33%


 1996-97
 6
 43%
 0
 0%
 9
 29%
 10
 28%


 1997-98
 14
 58%
 1
 14%
 4
 17%
 10
 24%


 1998-99
 10
 50%
 2
 25%
 8
 35%
 8
 25%


 1999-00
 7
 39%
 3
 27%
 8
 29%
 8
 20%


 2000-01
 6
 26%
 3
 27%
 7
 26%
 11
 29%


 2001-02
 9
 45%
 1
 10%
 5
 20%
 10
 37%


 2002-03
 5
 29%
 1
 17%
 10
 42%
 9
 23%


 2003-04
 1
 7%
 4
 50%
 5
 29%
 8
 32%


 2004-05
 7
 35%
 4
 31%
 6
 26%
 8
 21%



  Ill-Health Retirements as a Percentage of Total Police Retirements

  

 
 Lothian And Borders
 Northern
 Strathclyde
 Tayside


 Officers
 % of Total Retirements
 Officers
 % of Total Retirements
 Officers
 % of Total Retirements
 Officers
% of TotalRetirements


 1991
 44
 54%
 7
 44%
 69
 39%
 8
 38%


 1992
 46
 49%
 11
 39%
 111
 47%
 7
 28%


 1993
 35
 40%
 5
 50%
 140
 55%
 16
 37%


 1994
 40
 54%
 7
 30%
 103
 56%
 18
 55%


 1995-96
 38
 44%
 7
 33%
 128
 47%
 16
 36%


 1996-97
 32
 40%
 8
 40%
 119
 55%
 12
 38%


 1997-98
 22
 33%
 3
 16%
 104
 47%
 15
 43%


 1998-99
 32
 43%
 5
 38%
 96
 47%
 8
 29%


 1999-2000
 32
 44%
 6
 23%
 104
 45%
 19
 50%


 2000-01
 35
 49%
 12
 50%
 110
 47%
 14
 41%


 2001-02
 55
 54%
 5
 24%
 100
 41%
 12
 28%


 2002-03
 42
 48%
 1
 5%
 55
 25%
 12
 40%


 2003-04
 22
 29%
 6
 22%
 77
 34%
 8
 25%


 2004-05
 18
 22%
 8
 36%
 54
 22%
 2
 6%



  Source: Annual Statistical Returns submitted to forces to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

  Notes:

  1991–94 - calendar years.

  1995-96 onwards – financial years.

Prison Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much local produce is used in preparing prison meals in each prison in Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is not available. Most foodstuffs used in prisons are procured centrally to ensure both the required level of quality and value for money.

  The SPS have established a good food group to ensure that prisoners are provided with a healthy and balanced diet.

Prison Service

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the progress of Scottish Prison Service nurses’ salary negotiations, including on the reasons for any delay in concluding negotiations, on currently arranged negotiating meetings and on the anticipated timescale for conclusion of negotiations.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The start of formal negotiations needed to await the Scottish Executive pay remit and analysis of the details of the Agenda for Change whose implementation by the NHS was delayed.

  The SPS has now received a pay remit and the Agenda for Change analysis is complete.

  Pay negotiations are now in process. Among SPS’s aims is to conclude them as soon as the negotiating parties agree.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners under the age of 18 there were in each year since 1990, broken down by prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information is given in the following table:

  

 
 1996-97
 1997-98
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Barlinnie 
 552
 484
 493
 313
 200
 238
 302
 295
 78


 Aberdeen 
 72
 73
 66
 53
 42
 32
 35
 42
 22


 Cornton Vale 
 55
 44
 65
 55
 39
 44
 48
 42
 48


 Dumfries 
 63
 68
 48
 33
 48
 34
 34
 25
 29


 Edinburgh 
 253
 241
 230
 189
 151
 153
 148
 139
 106


 Glenochil
 208
 214
 176
 173
 94
 30
 61
 11
 0


 Greenock 
 173
 151
 118
 102
 98
 98
 89
 74
 53


 Inverness 
 45
 43
 45
 34
 53
 48
 48
 49
 50


 Longriggend 
 506
 532
 525
 331
 29
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Low Moss 
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0
 1
 1
 1
 0


 Penninghame 
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Perth 
 129
 132
 112
 104
 68
 66
 116
 102
 80


 Polmont 
 616
 612
 516
 447
 363
 361
 418
 509
 498


 Peterhead Unit 
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Kilmarnock 
 0
 0
 0
 114
 75
 83
 49
 59
 45


 Total number of individuals1
 1336
 1240
 1188
 983
 784
 788
 875
 858
 730



  Note: 1. As an individual can be held in more than one penal establishment in one year the sum of the number of individuals in each establishment is much greater than the total number of individuals held in any one year.

Radioactive Waste

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any submission to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management’s consultation on the committee’s interim recommendations and, if so, whether it will provide a summary of the submission and also place a full copy in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has not made any submissions to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) following the publication of its draft recommendations on 27 April 2006.

  The Executive is a joint sponsor of CoRWM and is looking forward to receiving the Committee’s final recommendations next month. It would not be appropriate for the Executive to respond to CoRWM’s recommendations until after these recommendations have been received. A copy of the Executive’s response to CoRWM’s final recommendations will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre at the appropriate time.

Rail Network

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the approximate cost would be of (a) constructing a new station to serve Edinburgh Airport on the existing Edinburgh to Fife line and (b) constructing a line as a connecting chord between the Edinburgh to Fife line to the north of the airport and the Winchburgh to Dalmeny branch.

Tavish Scott: As part of the EARL project consultation process a number of members of the public put forward a very similar proposal to the one suggested. The option was considered and appraised in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) process. This proposal became known as the "Turnhouse option".

  The Turnhouse option was appraised using the STAG process against the same planning criteria as all other options. The option required a means of transporting passengers from the new station to the airport and three options were considered being a bus shuttle (total option cost £134 million), a travellator (total option cost £321 million) and a driverless shuttle (total option cost £415 million).

  All Turnhouse options acted to reduce patronage with the bus shuttle reducing demand by 46%, the travellator reducing demand by 72% and the driverless shuttle reducing demand by 64%. The Turnhouse option was not taken forward as it failed to achieve any better performance than the runway tunnel option against the set planning objectives.

  A full report on the Turnhouse option is available on the Earl Website at www.Earlproject.com.

  I hope that you find this helpful.

Rail Services

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the provision from December 2006 of a fourth daily train south from Wick to Inverness, connecting at Thurso with the early ferry from Orkney, serious consideration is being given to the provision of a matching fourth train north, given that no train departs for the far north from Inverness between 1059 and 1753.

Tavish Scott: An additional service from Wick and Thurso to Inverness is being delivered to meet an identified need, specifically providing an improved onward rail connection for passengers travelling on the early morning sailing from Orkney to Scrabster. The train will combine with an existing northbound service in the late afternoon to provide additional capacity out of Inverness during the evening peak. The operating cost associated with this will be kept to a minimum by operating the service in one direction and by making best use of existing resources.

  Transport Scotland will continue to work with First ScotRail, Highland Rail Partnership and other industry partners to identify opportunities to deliver service improvements on the Far North Line, in addition to this fourth service and the new services introduced with the December 2005 timetable.

Regulation of Care

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement procedures under the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 and investigate West Lothian Council’s practice of charging for assistance with the preparation of food for elderly residents in West Lothian.

Lewis Macdonald: A letter issued to local authorities last month which set out the guiding principles that we expect local authorities to follow when deciding what services should be provided for free. The current evaluation of the free personal care policy is looking at differences across the country in how it operates and this will provide us with evidence of any variations in practice between local authorities. We will then be able to consider what, if any, further action is required. In the meantime we will discuss particular problems with COSLA and specific local authorities, and take further action if appropriate.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24473 by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2006, how it reconciles the statement that no credible or reliable information exists regarding the facilitation of "extraordinary rendition" flights through Scottish airports by US agencies with its statement, in answer to question S2W-24475 by Cathy Jamieson on 13 April 2006, that it would not comment on the credibility of a report handed to it by Angus Robertson MP regarding the existence of such flights, on the grounds that "it is not for ministers to judge the credibility, or otherwise, of the information in the report".

Cathy Jamieson: In my answer to question S2W-24473, I explained that no enquiry could be undertaken in response to unsubstantiated allegations. It is not for me to say whether allegations can be substantiated; but to date no law enforcement agency in Scotland, having examined those allegations, has reached such a view.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24647 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 April 2006, why it has not passed to the police any allegations brought to its attention regarding the possibility that US agencies have used Scottish airports as refuelling stops for flights engaged in the process of "extraordinary rendition".

Cathy Jamieson: It is the responsibility of those making allegations, and believing themselves in possession of relevant information, to refer the matter to the police. The Executive has repeatedly advised anyone with relevant information to pass it to the police.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24680 by Cathy Jamieson on 20 April 2006, how many communications, other than those in the form of written parliamentary questions, it has received on the subject of "extraordinary rendition"; who initiated each communication, and what the Executive's response has been in each case.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the responses made by the Scottish Executive to recent requests under freedom of information legislation, which will be available as from 19 June on the Executive’s website. The material published there includes all relevant communications to the Executive on the subject of extraordinary rendition and the Executive’s responses. Names of correspondents have been omitted in order to comply with data protection requirements.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the findings have been of any investigations, undertaken by it, the police or any Executive agency or supported agency, or in which these bodies have co-operated, into the process known as extraordinary rendition.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will instigate an investigation into the existence of flights being refuelled at Prestwick airport that are alleged by Senator Dick Marty, in his explanatory memorandum on alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states, published on 7 June 2006, to be involved in the process of "extraordinary rendition" undertaken by US agencies.

Cathy Jamieson: It is for the police to mount an investigation if information comes to light which they regard as credible and reliable and indicating that criminal offences may have been committed. To date they have not mounted any such investigation: hence there are no findings. I refer to the member to the answer to question S2W-24473 on 13 April 2006.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility for which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Rights of Way

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action can be taken against landowners who use moveable objects such as tractors or animal feeding troughs to obstruct, or to create access problems for, pedestrians wishing to use rights of way.

Rhona Brankin: Action may be taken by the relevant local authority in these circumstances. If it is a right of way, local authorities have the duty and powers under the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967, section 46, to keep any right of way free of obstruction. The authority may institute legal proceedings and generally take such steps as it deems expedient.

  The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, section 13, provides access authorities with the duty and powers to keep open and free from obstruction any routes by which access rights may reasonably be exercised, and section 14 of the act sets out the powers and procedures for dealing with obstructions.

Rights of Way

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or Transport Scotland intends to monitor changes in the usage of individual long-distance bus routes as a consequence of the entitlement of pensioners to free national bus travel.

Tavish Scott: It is anticipated by both us and bus operators that there will be growth in the usage of long distance services as a result of the new Scheme. It is ultimately a commercial issue for the bus industry to decide how best to meet demand. However, Transport Scotland will be particularly monitoring longer distance services to ensure that older and disabled people are able to use them, without encountering any significant problems with capacity or being treated less favourably than fare paying passengers.

School Meals

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive why it has not used its powers to extend the eligibility for free school meals in order to raise the number of children eligible for free school meals above the 23% officially classed as living in poverty.

Peter Peacock: The provision of free school meals is only one of many measures we have to abolish child poverty in Scotland. The Scottish Executive is targeting those most in need in a variety of ways, including implementing measures to increase uptake of free school meals by those entitled to them and to remove stigma associated with free school meals.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contact has been made with Mr John MacLeod in respect of the two fingerprint reports he submitted to the Executive since its settlement with Shirley McKie and since the Minister for Justice announced that the reports would not be released into the public domain or made available to the on-going parliamentary inquiry; who instigated that contact; what the nature was of that contact; what persons made that contact and on whose behalf; what information was exchanged during that contact, and whether Mr MacLeod was at any stage warned either verbally, by letter or in any other way that, should he release the reports, divulge their contents or give evidence about them, he would be sued or otherwise have official or unofficial action taken against him.

Cathy Jamieson: Communications between solicitors and expert witnesses are confidential. However, I made clear in my letter of 22 May 2006 to the Convener of the Justice 1 Committee that the Executive had not imposed any new constraints on Mr MacLeod and was seeking merely to maintain the standard approach to confidentiality that is implicit at the outset in all work of this type. A copy of that letter is available at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/justice1/papers-06/j1p06-19.pdf.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures best value in the tendering process for its contracts and whether it has ever found evidence of cartel practices amongst those submitting tenders.

Mr Tom McCabe: Best Value in tendering processes is achieved through a number of means; all of which are set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual which applies to the Scottish Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. These include requirements that goods and services are acquired by competition unless there is a convincing reason to the contrary, that procurement decisions are based on value for money having due regard to propriety and regularity, that procurement processes are managed by staff with appropriate skills, experience and training and that purchasers preserve the highest ethical standards in their dealings with suppliers.

  "Value for money" is defined in the manual as the optimum combination of whole-life cost and quality (or fitness for purpose) to meet the user’s requirement. Securing value for money in procurement is crucial to the wider objective of delivering high quality, cost-effective public services.

  We are not aware of any evidence of cartel practices amongst those submitting tenders to the Scottish Executive.

Scottish Executive Publications

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of its response to the Care 21 Report, The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland , were printed; to whom the copies were distributed, and what the total cost was of (a) design, (b) printing and (c) postage and distribution.

Lewis Macdonald: Two-thousand, seven hundred copies of the Scottish Executive response to Care 21 report The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland have been printed. Distribution is under way to the following groups:

  MSPs; relevant Scottish Executive, UK, Wales and Northern Ireland Government officials; interested voluntary sector organisations; NHS Health Board Chief Executives; Community Health Partnerships; Local Authority Directors of Social Work and Chief Executives; public libraries; Scottish higher education institutes; Scottish colleges; the Care 21 Stakeholder Group and people who attended Care 21 events.

  Design and printing costs were £687.38 and £3,060.00 respectively. Projected costs of postage and distribution are £1,020.00.

Scottish Water

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to consult on how Scottish Water could benefit from changed borrowing regimes.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive has no such plans.

Social Workers

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of offenders to criminal justice social workers has been in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table. The ratios represent the number of individual convicted offenders to the number of qualified criminal justice social workers.

  The ratios are not an indication of the workload of criminal justice social workers. Individual offenders may receive any type of court disposal including custody, community sentences and monetary penalties, and may receive more than one conviction in a given year. Criminal justice social workers provide services in relation to the supervision of community sentences and wider services including Throughcare and Voluntary Assistance for released and supervised prisoners, diversion from prosecution and the preparation of reports for court (e.g. Social Enquiry Reports).

  Ratio of Convicted Individual Offenders1 to Qualified Criminal Justice Social Workers, by Approximate Local Authority Area2, 2000-01 to 2004-05

  

 Local Authority
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Aberdeen3
 45.4
 48.4
 45.6
 48.6
 40.0


 Angus
 75.0
 64.3
 82.1
 70.3
 64.9


 Argyll and Bute
 105.2
 108.3
 130.4
 142.2
 77.5


 Ayrshire4
 110.1
 110.0
 97.6
 84.3
 71.3


 Clackmannanshire
 31.5
 30.5
 37.1
 48.0
 45.8


 Dumfries and Galloway
 89.3
 70.4
 70.4
 87.4
 79.1


 Dundee City 
 84.7
 69.7
 67.2
 62.3
 58.0


 East Lothian 
 42.1
 96.3
 60.6
 72.7
 56.3


 Edinburgh5
 54.8
 56.3
 55.7
 59.3
 55.3


 Eilean Siar6
 -
 -
 -
 -
 160.0


 Falkirk 
 86.9
 98.0
 77.9
 94.7
 99.1


 Fife 
 43.4
 41.5
 41.2
 38.2
 42.8


 Glasgow7
 56.6
 68.2
 71.2
 69.0
 97.7


 Highland 
 99.6
 112.2
 120.8
 135.7
 138.1


 Inverclyde
 78.9
 63.7
 64.1
 52.0
 48.9


 Moray
 106.0
 93.7
 54.9
 66.0
 157.4


 Lanarkshire8
 74.2
 78.4
 76.2
 72.0
 65.1


 Orkney Islands 
 40.5
 35.5
 46.5
 43.5
 32.7


 Perth and Kinross9
 67.2
 n/a
 n/a
 49.9
 50.7


 Renfrewshire10
 71.4
 74.0
 64.7
 46.5
 47.4


 Scottish Borders
 70.1
 80.8
 107.0
 101.5
 67.8


 Shetland Islands 
 42.0
 27.8
 42.7
 53.3
 22.6


 Stirling 
 84.3
 90.6
 64.2
 80.3
 71.4


 West Lothian 
 107.5
 95.5
 101.5
 73.4
 79.9


 Scotland11
 67.4
 71.8
 70.5
 67.3
 67.6



  Note:

  1. Individual offenders have been defined as individuals with a charge proved for a crime or relevant offence (common assault, breach of the peace, racially aggravated conduct or harassment, firearms offences or social security offences) in Scottish courts. These offenders may have received more than one conviction within each financial year and, where they received a community sentence, may not always be supervised in the area in which they are convicted.

  2. Whilst local authority and court areas are not co-terminous, the segregation in this answer represents the best available approximation to local authority data.

  3. Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire (Aberdeen, Banff, Stonehaven and Peterhead Sheriff Courts).

  4. North, South and East Ayrshire (Kilmarnock and Ayr Sheriff Courts).

  5. City of Edinburgh and Midlothian (Edinburgh Sheriff Court).

  6. Eilean Siar reported no qualified main grade criminal justice social workers in 2000 to 2003.

  7. Glasgow City, East and West Dunbartonshire (Glasgow and Dumbarton Sheriff Courts and Stipendiary Magistrates).

  8. North and South Lanarkshire (Airdrie, Hamilton and Lanark Sheriff Courts).

  9. Perth and Kinross did not provide information on criminal justice social work staff in 2001 and 2002.

  10. Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire (Paisley Sheriff Court).

  11. Includes individuals offenders convicted in the High Court and Remitted to the High Court.

Tourism

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why the Scottish tourism sector was not represented at the 2006 London Golf Show.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish tourism sector was represented at the 2006 London Golf Show. However, there was a reduced presence as compared with the previous year due to a clash of dates. The organisers of the Golf Show had taken the decision to move their original dates to prevent a clash with the London Marathon, which in turn meant that the new dates fell in the same week as VisitScotland’s "Expo" in Glasgow, the annual flagship trade show for the Scottish tourism industry.

  The conflicting dates not only prevented VisitScotland from taking a stand at the London Golf Show, but also meant that many of Scotland’s golf suppliers and related businesses found themselves in the same position and unable to be at both events.

  Nevertheless, although VisitScotland did not have a stand, staff were in attendance at the London Golf Show, and the Official Guide to Golf in Scotland was distributed through an industry partner. In addition to this, a number of private businesses were present at the Show.

Vaccines

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that it has not funded any clinical research into a connection between autism and bowel disease in children since this issue was first raised in 1998 and that no children identified by parents as having withdrawn into autism following MMR vaccination have been included in a clinical study designed to verify the presence of a new inflammatory bowel disease, despite the Medical Research Council’s statement in 2001 that research into a possible link between bowel disease and autism was a priority area and its subsequent confirmation of this position in 2003.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-24316 on 27 March 2006, S2W-25442 on 8 May 2006 and S2W-26233 on 2 June 2006. As stated previously, the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department has not funded any research into links between autism, bowel disease and the MMR vaccination in children since 1998 and consequently there has been no such clinical study in that period as described.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Vaccines

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to inform parents of any international concerns over the safety record of the MMR vaccine and what steps will be taken to withdraw and replace all advertising literature that asserts that no child has ever died as a result of MMR vaccination, in light of the death of a child and adverse effects on other children in Vietnam following the administration of the Priorix vaccine.

Mr Andy Kerr: Priorix has been successfully used to prevent measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) since 1997. More than 145 million doses have been administered worldwide and the vaccine has an excellent safety track record.

  Preliminary results from the investigation into the death of a child, and into the cases of the eight children who fell ill in Vietnam after being immunised with three different infant vaccines, (GSK’s MMR vaccine [Priorix], or a GSK Varicella vaccine [Varilrix] or a non-GSK hepatitis B vaccine), suggest that the vaccines are unlikely to have been responsible. The events appear to be isolated to one district, one health centre, and a limited time period.

  The latest reports from Vietnam suggest that the cause of the reactions observed in these children was likely to be Staphylococcus aureus infection, and that the same organism has been isolated from two workers at the vaccination centre. Tests, which need to be finally confirmed, have determined that the strain isolated from the health care workers is genetically identical to that isolated from the vaccinees. The final results of the investigation are expected to be announced in the latter part of June.

  The safety of MMR vaccine is closely monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the government agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work, and are acceptably safe. MHRA will take any action that is necessary to ensure that patient safety is not compromised. The current view within the UK and Europe is that the balance of risks and benefits for MMR vaccine remains overwhelmingly positive.

  Paediatric vaccines are not advertised in the UK, and as such the MHRA is unaware of any advertising which asserts that no child has ever died as a result of Priorix vaccination. The MHRA will take action if such a claim is brought to its attention.

Waste Management

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure waste reduction across Scotland.

Ross Finnie: On household waste, we are supporting waste prevention work by the Waste and Resources Action Programme including home composting, work with retailers to minimise waste from products and packaging, and real nappies. We have also provided resources to community sector projects carrying out work on waste prevention through our INCREASE programme.

  On commercial and industrial waste, we support programmes such as Envirowise and Business Environment Partnership which provide direct advice to business on waste prevention. The Landfill Tax and improved standards at landfill sites also encourage waste prevention.

  We carried out a consultation earlier this year on Preventing Household Waste in Scotland. The responses to this consultation are currently being analysed and we intend to produce an action plan later this year. We carried out a consultation last year on the Sustainable Management of Waste from Business and Public Sector Organisations in Scotland, and, again, will produce an action plan later this year.

Waste Management

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it uses to assess the best practicable environmental option when comparing strategic outline cases from different local authorities for funding from the Strategic Waste Fund.

Ross Finnie: The criteria used to assess strategic outline cases from local authorities are available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/2690741/07425 . The criteria used to assess compliance with the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) are available at www.sepa.org.uk/pdf/nws/guidance/Compliance_testing_socs.pdf . Where strategic outline cases are out of line with the previously identified BPEO, a Strategic Environmental Assessment will take place.